


Sweet yet Sorrowful

by Error403HRD



Series: GRSM/LGBT Representation [14]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Four Sword Adventures, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, 에픽세븐 | Epic Seven (Video Game)
Genre: Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Found Family, Friendship, Longing, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:49:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27585655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Error403HRD/pseuds/Error403HRD
Summary: When Shadow smashed the mirror, he thought for sure that would be it.He didn't expect to find a family in another world.
Relationships: Shadow Link & Charlotte & Sigret, Shadow Link/Vio Link
Series: GRSM/LGBT Representation [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2087655
Kudos: 13





	Sweet yet Sorrowful

**Author's Note:**

> I don't think there's any swearing, so you should be fine. This is one of the best things I've ever written, but like, it's a weird crossover.
> 
> Spoilers/Warning(?sort of?)  
> NOT CANON COMPLIANT:  
> Sigret is alive, Paradoxia is missing

When Shadow faded, he was sure it would be the end. That he'd either die or be confined to life as a shadow, forced to eternally copy Vio or Green or Blue or Red's movements.

But that wasn't what happened.

He woke up, solid, face in the dirt, and a woman with white hair and beautiful yellow eyes looming above him.

Her eyes held sorrow, regret, and an undercurrent of fear.

She seemed to be of a noble status, yet she was dirty, her clothes torn, and she looked like she'd been running in her wounded state.

And yet she stopped, when he appeared.

"Child, can you stand?"

Shadow didn't respond, instead forcing himself onto his feet, wobbling slightly. His powers were drained, he wasn't going to waste them by floating.

The woman gave a sad smile as she steadied him until he'd gotten used to standing,

"Come Child, I'll explain what's going on when we've reached safety."

And so, he followed the woman, with no where else to go, unable to activate his powers, and no idea where he was, following the kind woman who helped him to his feet seemed like a good choice.

And so she guided him stealthily through a battlefield; he heard the screams of monsters alien to him, and battle cries from endless soldiers, many seemed to be of a strange species unknown to him.

The woman guided him, wincing whenever she thought them caught, and guiding him through safe areas despite her limp and broken arm.

Eventually, they reached an underground lab. It was wrecked, with odd mutated bodies in tubes, slowly decaying, and papers littering the floor.

The smell was vile.

Finally, the woman relaxed as she closed the door, but didn't lock it. She gave him a tired smile as she addressed him for the first time since their meeting,

"Child, you appeared suddenly, not from a portal like many otherworldly visitors."

When the silence stretched for a moment, Shadow unsure of the response he should give, the woman gave a nod, as if deciding a plan of action,

"I am Sigret. I was the overseer for King Friedrich's actions. I foolishly followed the Archdemon and heeded the orders of his acolyte, Kayron." Shadow looked at her, his magic replenishing enough to make him confident in his abilities if she took his reply poorly.

He gave a sharp smile, her admission of guilt or evil or whatever it was did nothing to make him ungrateful for her getting him off the battlefield safely, even if the circumstances of his presence eluded him. Her actions likely didn't even compare to his own,

"I'm Shadow, manifested from the evil in the heart of my world's hero. I was a pawn in Ganon's game, the only action I took to pave my own path was breaking the mirror connected to my life. The mirror that was also coincidentally fuelling the power of the one the heroes were fighting."

Sigret leaned against the odd staff she'd gripped tightly for as long as he saw her; her injuries were healing at an alarmingly fast rate, yet he could tell she was exhausted. Shadow could see the gears turning as she struggled for a response, before finally giving up and smiling,

"You're from a very different world then. I've heard of no being named Ganon, and creatures made of evil rarely have the mind for something other than malicious intent. This world is called Orbis. Currently we are on the continent Ritania and in the Kingdom of Taranor. We are in the midst of the final battle, between the Archdemon and the Heir of the Covenant. The hero who's failed six times before and been reborn one final time even as the Goddess's power dwindles."

Shadow looked at her, interested. Sigret merely straightened her posture and sighed,

"As a willing servant of the Archdemon, no matter my state of mind at the time, I will surely be hunted, though the heirs will likely believe me dead, as when they left, I was stricken down."

It was a warning. That he should leave.

Shadow was indebted to this woman, a woman who was kind to him, risking her life to get him safely off the battlefield. She deserved a second chance, and she looked like she had been alone for far too long.

If it was also because he didn't want to be alone, well, he was always great at being selfish.

_(Vio's distraught face made his gut curl, even as darkness flooded his vision.)_

"Well, it'll be good to have someone to vouch for you then. Do you have a destination in mind?"

Sigret looked shocked, but she kept her composure, more gracefully than even Princess Zelda had. Her eyes narrowed in slight suspicion, before she pushed her glasses back into their proper place and stopped leaning on her staff.

"Is that what you truly wish to do? I have no destination in mind. Few are willing to live the life of a wanderer, without destination."

A wanderer huh. It would be a nice change of pace from staying in a single spot. He'd always been curious about the world, even if he reigned himself in enough to only do so when he was destroying villages or taunting the heroes.

_("Yes, this is a Silent Princess, mildly poisonous, and abundant in areas with little rainfall and at higher altitudes." "Poisonous, eh? Like my dear Aconite?" Vio's face was a light pink, a pleasant color that Shadow rarely saw on his face.)_

Shadow gave Sigret a nod, already putting a plan of action in mind.

If Sigret was truly annoying, it wouldn't be too hard to abandon her. 

"Sure, I don't really have a purpose anyway. My hero isn't here, and this world is new. Perhaps a little exploration will be good for both of us."

Sigret's eyes seemed to soften as she beckoned him closer. She sat on the floor, a calm smile on her face.

"Alright, if that is what you wish. Please, sit, we will leave when we are both at functioning at or near full capacity. Until then, I shall explain the mechanics of this world."

And so, Sigret began explaining the typing system, the odd battle system, the Goddess, explanation of levels and awakening.

Apparently, Sigret was only level 44, and she hadn't been awakened yet. She was an Ice type Warrior and was a beginning five star, which was apparently the best of the best.

Shadow was even more surprised when Sigret found him to be a Dark type Mage and a beginning five star. Though he was unawakened and only level 37, he was proud.

Soon enough, Shadow's energy returned and Sigret was fully healed. They heard cheering from the battlefield and knew they had to leave before someone came to clean out the lab.

So, Sigret carefully ran with him through trees, carefully navigating so they'd never reach the plains near the battlefield, occasionally going around mountains so they'd have cover.

It was a long travel, it was inevitable they'd run into a monster or two on their way. It had been several hours, the sun was down, and yet they kept moving, neither willing to stop until they reached either a non-Taranor settlement, or were simply too tired to continue.

They'd been jumped by a small group of Red Smoke Remuses. They were stronger than Shadow bargained for, but Sigret took them down one at a time with ease, and Shadow had an amazing dodge and baffling attack.

Sigret took down eight, and Shadow took down four, both had leveled to 45 and 38 respectively.

("You're really good at this." "Hm? Oh, it's because I was trained by Kayron for battle. I was to protect the king, and what use is a warrior that can't fight." "Yeah...that's the question, isn't it?" "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean." "Oh, it's nothing." "If you say so.")

Taking a moment to rest and heal, they slept back to back, trusting each other enough to do so, despite only knowing each other for a few hours.

("You're..." "...and th-hm?" "Never mind, it's not important." "I'm willing to lend an ear." "I'll tell you if it becomes important." "If you're sure. As I was saying, the Taranor-Solayu border is a few hours south...")

_("Do you ever want to explore, Shadow?" "I-well-sometimes." "I don't mean to pressure you, it's just, I kind of liked it. Walking through an unknown forest, I mean. Never knowing what was around the corner." "It does seem cool." .... "Well, anyway, you said you had a plan?" "Yup-")_

When the sun rose and Shadow realized he wasn't going to be hurt by the light, they continued on their way.

As Sigret had said, only a few hours passed and they were in Solayu Forest.

A breath of relief passed through their bodies, but they weren't far enough from Taranor quite yet, so they continued, quite literally running into a young lady.

("Rgh! Who are you!" "Ma'am, I must ask you to calm down." "No one tells me what to do! I'm the Lady of the Swamp!" "Agh! Watch where you're swinging those!")

After a brief fight, in which Sigret showed off her speed and Shadow had fun teasing the girl, it was revealed that she was Lady Charlotte of La Mare. She was the queen of Solayu.

("I'm trying to figure out how to become a good queen. Paradoxia sheltered me from the world, refusing to let me leave the castle, and she imprisoned anyone who tried to visit me. I'm trying to make up for my wrongs and hers, but I need to find Cecilia to do it." "Hm, I'm Sigret, I assisted in ruling Taranor. Cecilia is likely across seas, and truly, a good queen should not have to rely on another's presence. She should have friends and companions when she is in need of aid, but she shouldn't be so reliant that she requires them at all hours of the day." "You're a queen!?" "Charlotte, I think you're missing the point.")

And so, Charlotte invited them back to La Mare, since Paradoxia had mysteriously disappeared.

Shadow was hesitant at first, but Sigret assured him that his commoner background would assist them greatly.

That, and teasing Charlotte made her think favorably of him. Butting heads with him apparently brought her to her senses. Clearly, she had attachment issues, but she'd also defend them with all her might so long as they didn't betray her.

La Mare was bigger than any other place he'd been, but Sigret said it was a reasonable size. It was smaller than Taranor's castle, but only because it was built in a swamp and building on such terrain required extreme caution.

Sigret took it upon herself to teach Charlotte, a level 34 Fire type Knight, how to be a proper queen. Despite not technically being one, Sigret knew how to learn from her mistakes, and she had studied Queen Kise's reign extensively. At first in an effort to be like her, and later out of some twisted form of punishment for not living up to her memory.

Since Solayu was in the dumps, they needed allies, and badly. So, Sigret decided to have Charlotte organize an audience with President Yuna of Reingar. She'd surely assist, since Ezera was taking the brunt of Taranor's reconstruction and she was reasonable enough.

It went reasonably well.

("Why didn't you rebuild Solayu sooner?" Charlotte seemed irritated, but she reigned herself in, much to Sigret's pleasure, and gave an appropriate response, "It was only a few weeks ago that I escaped Paradoxia. I'm unsure of where she went, but I needed to make sure I was mentally capable to rule." "Fair enough. Karin, can you organize two escorts to Solayu, I need to take ground samples for reconstruction, and we need to make plans!")

Karin had been suspicious of them the entire time, but Sigret and Charlotte both held their ground. Shadow, meanwhile, was having fun holding down the castle. He chatted with the citizens that were trying to readjust to life. They liked his playful demeanor, which surprised him.

_("Demon!" "Murderer!" "Evil!")_

When Charlotte, Sigret, Yuna, Judith, and Azalea arrived back to Solayu, everyone knew that Charlotte was also a victim and were very eager to help rebuild.

Charlotte had never looked happier, despite all the mud on her clothes.

("It's good for you to be seen doing work Charlotte." "Really!?" "Yes, being a queen that's willing to get her hands dirty for her people is a very good thing." "I mean, I just wanted to help, and this is really all my responsibility." "Helping the commoners is very good, it makes people see you as more sympathetic, not as someone who's uptight and snobbish." "Huh, well, I like it. Paradoxia never let me do manual labor. Or...really much of anything." "Well, wielding those swords requires muscle, get to it!" "I bet I can do more than you, Shadow!" "You're on!")

When the rebuilding was done, Charlotte focused a lot on rebuilding the government, law enforcement, and border patrols.

If those border patrols brought desperate people to her door, well, she'd always find an empty room. Coincidentally, a house would be built and ready for habitation not long later.

There were a few skirmishes due to abuse of power, but they shut that down real quick, and Shadow was always snooping in the shadows on the look out for any issues.

Sigret was officially declared advisor and trained soldiers at least once a week. Shadow was also declared advisor and monitored the patrol teams. Each settlement would send a representative once a week to have a meeting. Sometimes those meetings lasted under an hour, and once it lasted about twelve hours. They were so each town could get the queen's attention for any issues. Each town could draft laws and send them in. Charlotte would look them over, alongside Sigret and Shadow, they'd immediately reject most of them, and the ones that remained were brought to the meeting so the laws could be discussed. Often, they were thrown out, though sometimes they were accepted, usually with alterations.

One day, through all of this, Charlotte underwent a transformation. While she was working, light overcame her and all the onlookers turned to see as she appeared in a red dress, knee high boots, a pointed crown, and her two swords merged into one extremely large one. She'd become a Light type Warrior, but she continued on as normal, occasionally complaining about how cold her thighs were.

("Seriously, whatever magic did this has horrible taste." "I think you look beautiful your highness." "A-Ah, thank you miss, please, call me Charlotte. I'm no better than any of you." "Of course my Lady, though I disagree." "Being a queen only means I was born into nobility, it doesn't mean I'm better in any way. I make mistakes too, though I hope you're willing to help correct me if that does happen. All I want to do is improve and give Solayu the ruler it deserves." "That is _why_ you're better than us, or, at least, me, my Lady.")

The transformation was mostly brushed off by Charlotte, even as the townspeople praised her for becoming her Moonlight.

("What's a Moonlight?" "It's a form granted to those with a sincere enough wish. Sometimes the person themselves become that moonlight, while sometimes the moonlight is an entirely different person, though that only happens when one's wish is unattainable. For example, King Aither, when he was a prince, sincerely wished to be free of his duties, yet that's not a realistic goal, so a moonlight formed by the name of Guider Aither, an amnesiac wanderer that has a talent with animals. Charlotte, however, wished to be a worthy queen, an attainable goal, provided she got some assistance, so she achieved her moonlight form when she became a worthy queen." "Will she revert if she becomes unworthy?" "Possibly, though, with us to keep her in check, alongside her people, that should never happen." "I doubt she believes she's worthy even now." "Correct, but striving to better yourself is a noble goal.")

Sigret got comfortable enough to tell them of her backstory. About how she was brought back as the queen's dead wife, but she had none of the memories of Kise. She was given a different name and soon the king died. Her son, Friedrich, rejected her, and only once did she let down the barrier and act like the mother she was. She was taken advantage of by Kayron in a moment of weakness and made to believe that her only purpose in life was to serve the Archdemon.

Shadow had never wanted to murder so many people.

Solayu was slowly returning to its' former glory.

Then, King Aither of Ezera requested an audience.

("Oh, him." "Do you dislike him?" "I've never met the kid personally, but he stole the Ezeran throne from me when his mother, Queen Diene, took over after the first Archdemon war." "Is Solayu not enough for you?" "It's more than enough, it's twice the size of Ezera! I just...I know it's irrational, but I can't help it." Shadow sighed, giving her a side hug, "We all have our irrational feelings. You just can't let them control you." "You sound like you're speaking from experience?" "It's a story for later, now, about this Aither guy.")

_("Vio, I feel like you're the first person I can truly trust, y'know?")_

With a little hesitation, Charlotte scheduled it for three days later.

No need to keep him waiting, after all.

And so, when Sir Charles and King Aither stepped in with the Heir of the Covenant, Sigret was the one to greet them. Immediately, Ras and Charles drew their weapons, while Aither looked ashamed of their actions before he even registered what was happening.

("If you're going to threaten my advisor, you have every right to _leave._ " "Lady Charlotte, you don't understand-" "I understand full well. She's a homunculus, served the Archdemon in the war. Realized the error of her ways, saved a boy from certain death, fled Taranor, assisted me in rebuilding my kingdom, and has continued to assist me in becoming a just ruler and returning order and peace to Solayu to atone for my disaction." "She saved my life. I very well could have died in that final battle if she hadn't saved me. She could've just kept running, but she didn't. She helped a random child and brought me to safety. If you intend to hurt her, you'll have to go through me first.")

After some initial tension, King Aither apologized for the actions of his two guards, glaring at a sheepish Ras and Charles. Charlotte had forgiven him, but didn't even spare Ras or Charles a glance. Not until they apologized for their own actions. Sigret and Shadow only relaxed when the meeting officially started.

 _("Idiot." "Oh? What happened this time?" "Red asked that fairy if she wanted Blue rare, medium, or well done." "So he_ does _have a sense of humor!" "I suppose he does." "You alright?" "....it's nothing.")_

The meeting was actually about their kingdoms, and not, as Shadow had suspected, a plot to arrest Sigret. Aither was determined to secure an ally, so he could help, apparently. Charlotte had initially been a little insulted, but realized that Aither was well intentioned and decided to let him do as he wished. They'd be allies so long as neither of them did something that the other found reprehensible.

It was a quick meeting; Aither said he'd have some builders over to help with what remained of the rebuilding efforts.

("Hey, Shadow, you ever gonna tell us about the comments you make? Sigret's already opened up a lot." "There's no need to rush yourself, I'm simply much less cautious about my history than most." "I....suppose I should tell you.")

And so, Shadow told them the tale of his creation; how he tricked Link into freeing Vaati. How he accosted Vio in the forest. How they fell in love while conquering Hyrule. How Vio betrayed him, his sense of justice overriding their love. How Shadow had been insulted, humiliated, and beaten by Ganon for his failure. How Zelda had given him advice and hope before she was spirited away. How he finally decided to carve his own path, tired of being used as a pawn by Ganon. How he destroyed the mirror. How he stayed there, fading on the floor, until the four heroes arrived. How the last thing he saw was Vio, near tears, as he realized what Shadow had done. Then how he'd woken up to see a dirty and ragged Sigret above him.

It took a while for them to process it, but he'd been enveloped in a hug from both of them.

_("Vio....have you, or, Link, I guess, ever been in love?" "Hm....no, well, I guess Link has a crush on Zelda, though I certainly don't harbor those feelings. If I had to guess, I'd say Blue or Green had those particular feelings. Red's a little naive for that. That's really not the question I've come to expect from you. Is there a reason for it?" "I...well, what does it feel like?" "Well...from what I can recall, it feels like a completeness. Like you could spend your entire life with that person and never regret it. As if you could go through anything, and you'd still be together. Through all the hardships, and even conflicts, you'd always find a way. You'd always have a kind ear, a hug, anything you need." "Vio....if I were to say I had a crush, what would you do?" "Hm, I'd ask who it was, if you didn't want to reveal that information, then I wouldn't pester you, though I'd certainly be curious, and I'd trust that you wouldn't do something foolish without asking for advice first." "If I were to say I had a crush on you, what would you do?" Vio gave him a smile, it was small, but true, and it made Shadow's heart flutter, "I'd say that I return your feelings.")_

Shadow was glad to have a family.

As much as he missed Vio, as much as he loved Vio, he knew the others weren't likely to accept him, much less trust him. He knew that he'd never quite have a family like this one. He'd never have a mother or father quite like Sigret, and he'd never have a sister or brother quite like Charlotte.

He knew his family was here.

And he didn't know if, given the choice, he'd choose them or Vio.

**Author's Note:**

> I can't tell if this is a happy or bittersweet ending. Either way, I totally didn't think this would happen, but like, Sigret and Charlotte are top tier heroes, my favs, it's a miracle I didn't find a way to shove Cidd in here. Yet I still managed a nod to Gaither somehow.


End file.
